Deployable structures have found many uses in connection with space vehicles such as satellites and the like. Deployable structures are very useful in connection with space vehicles since they can be launched into space in their compact undeployed configuration and then later deployed when the space vehicle is located in its proper position in space. Indeed the proper performance of at least some space vehicles would be greatly hindered or prevented unless it had some sort of deployable structure. This is particularly true where the deployable structure is designed to provide power to the space vehicle.
Such deployable structures have taken many shapes. Some of these deployable structures have been formed from a single sheet of pre-stressed material that can be coiled into a compact configuration and then uncoiled to its deployed configuration to form a hollow tubular element that could be utilized for an antenna or the like. Another different and perhaps more important type of deployable space structure has incorporated a series of panels that can be deployed in space from a space vehicle. These types of deployable panel structures have many uses. For instance they can be utilized to supply power to this spacecraft by having the panels covered with an array of solar cells. They can also be utilized to reflect sunlight and the like or they can also be utilized to dissipate unwanted heat from the space vehicle. In most if not all instances the primary advantage of the deployable panel structure is its large surface area compared to its relatively low weight and its relatively compact volume when it is in its non-deployed configuration.
Deployable panel structures have been in use for some years in connection with space vehicles. For instance such deployable panel structures are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,460,992; 3,525,483; 3,532,299; and 4,155,524. The deployable panel structures set forth in these patents are deployed and maintained in their deployed position by means of respectively a lazy tong linkage, a pair of cables, deployable booms, and cables and springs. In many instances it is desirable to have a relatively rigid deployable panel structure when it is deployed or in its deployed configuration. Unfortunately the invention set forth in these patents do not provide such a relatively rigid deployed panel structure. Moreover, for reliability's sake and for weight savings and the like, it is generally desirable to have as simple a structure as possible and to eliminate as much as possible any unnecessary structure other than the panels themselves. Unfortunately the invention set forth in these patents incorporate additional unwanted structure or structures.
The deployable space panel structure of this invention overcomes these problems associated with prior deployable panel structures and provides a deployable panel structure that is very rigid when it is in its deployed state. In addition, the deployable space panel structure of the invention utilizes only a minimal amount of structure that is not associated with the deployable panels themselves. Consequently, the invention saves weight and is highly reliable.